House GOP Greenlights Trump’s Funding Power Grab
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the House passed a proposal to rescind $9.4 billion in previously-allocated federal spending, most of which was used to fund public media and foreign assistance.
Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen, issued the following statement in response:
“The House GOP’s spineless rubber-stamping of Trump’s massive spending clawback shows not only a callous disregard for the lives that will be affected by these cuts, but also a worrying lack of resistance to the President’s attempt to steal power from the legislative branch.
“This vote rips away food, water, and medical care from children living through war and famine — including $145 million Congress approved for UNICEF. It slashes over $1 billion from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, derailing vaccine campaigns amid deadly measles outbreaks. It cuts funding from PEPFAR, threatening HIV treatment and prevention across the globe. These are real children, real clinics, real lives — abandoned to serve Trump’s political agenda.
“Proposed cuts for public media in the rescission package, similarly, will save tiny amounts of the federal budget only at the great expense of the American people, especially Americans living in rural communities, who rely on and benefit from public broadcasting for things like amber alerts, school snow days, tornado warnings, and more.
“As this bill moves to the Senate, Republican senators should reflect on how the rescission package threatens to blow up the annual appropriations process. The minority party has no reason to agree to bipartisan appropriations legislation if the president and one party alone can undo the deal.”